'Jellybean' Bryant, father of Kobe, dies at age 69

Former NBA player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the father of Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, has died. He was 69.

An official cause of Bryant’s death was not announced as of Tuesday morning. La Salle University, where Bryant played and coached, said in a statement that Bryant “was a beloved member of the Explorer family and will be dearly missed.”

Longtime Philadelphia-area basketball coach Fran Dunphy, who currently is the head coach at La Salle, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Bryant recently suffered a massive stroke.

Joe Bryant seldom appeared in public after Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash over four years ago. The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar told ESPN in 2010 that Joe was “a great basketball mind” and credited his father with teaching him “from an early age how to view the game, how to prepare for the game and how to execute.”

Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in January 2020 in Calabasas, California, as the group was making its way to a basketball tournament. Joe and Pam Bryant, who were married for nearly a half-century, had a sometimes frosty relationship with Kobe, but they were in the front row for the memorial service in Los Angeles about a month after Kobe and Gianna died.

“Sending our condolences upon hearing the news of my father in law’s passing,” Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, posted Tuesday on her Instagram story. “We hoped things would’ve been different. Although the times we spent together were few, he was always sweet and nice to be around. Kobe loved him very much.”

Joe Bryant played and coached professionally both in the United States and internationally after starring at La Salle, where he averaged 20.8 points per game in two seasons with the Explorers. He was a first-round draft selection of the Golden State Warriors in 1975 before being acquired later that year by the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant was a local basketball icon, whose legacy on the court transcended his journey across Bartram High School, La Salle University, and his first four NBA seasons with the 76ers from 1975-79,” the Sixers said in a statement. “Our condolences go out to the Bryant family.”

Doug Young, a former high school teammate of Kobe, lauded Joe as the ultimate “role model.”

“Joe was our JV coach at Lower Merion and I could not have asked for a more positive mentor, teacher, and role model,” Young told ESPN. “It’s difficult to overstate how much he influenced me and my teammates. He made basketball fun and made us all want to be better – he believed in us. I’ll never forget his infectious smile, his bear hugs and the incredible bond he shared with Kobe. Growing up in Lower Merion, there was no family we loved and admired more than the Bryants – and that started with Joe.”

The 6-foot-9 Bryant played parts of eight seasons in the NBA with the Sixers, Clippers and Rockets, averaging 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in 606 career games. He was a member of the 1976-77 Sixers team that lost to the Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals.

After playing nearly a decade overseas in France and Italy, Bryant started coaching in 1992. He was the head coach for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks for parts of three seasons and also coached in various roles at both the professional and college levels in the U.S., Japan and Thailand.

“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant and join the basketball community in mourning a true Philly hoops legend,” said Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, Kobe Bryant’s former agent. “Our friendship opened the door for me to represent Kobe as he entered the NBA, a memory I’ll always cherish. Joe was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, whose warmth touched everyone he met.”

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.